Issue 589

Tom Phillips

Big picture

1 Nov 2007

Tom Phillips Widely considered a touchstone of postmodernism, Tom Phillips’ artistic project, ‘A Humument: A Treated Victorian Novel’, has achieved cult status since its initial publication in 1970. One day, Phillips went into a book shop with the…

Secondhand record shops in Glasgow and Edinburgh

1 Nov 2007

Shopping and I have always had a love-hate relationship. But we put aside our differences for record shopping: that ritualistic, solitary activity that’s at once sombre yet exhilarating. Secondhand records possess the same mystique as old books; they…

Scottish crime writing

1 Nov 2007

‘Ah, well. If you’re Scottish, and you’re writing crime fiction, at some point someone is going to hail you as “the new Ian Rankin” until they remember, no, actually Ian Rankin is still there. Alex Gray has been described as the Glaswegian Ian Rankin.

Roman Signer: Works

1 Nov 2007

Roman Signer’s sculptural happenings, devoid as they are of nostalgia, reference or history, are usually received with a marvellous grin. Conventional narrative is displaced by simple Signer happenings such as a floating plastic bag, a rolling barrel.

Neil Landstrumm

1 Nov 2007

It’s a live set from Edinburgh techno master Neil Landstrumm at this month’s ‘Ravestep’ special at Trouble. Landstrumm’s latest album, Restaurant of Assassins mashes together his classic crooked techno with dubstep and hip hop beats, to create his own…

A Midsummer Night's Dream

1 Nov 2007

CLASSIC King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, run ended Since its premiere in New Delhi in April 2006, Tim Supple’s multilingual Dream seems to have conquered the resistance of every audience it has played to. Its first (though surely not last) appearance in…

The Not Dead

1 Nov 2007

DOCUMENTARY Channel 4, Mon 12 Nov, 9pm There’s always a danger that with the constant barrage of rolling news coverage, dramas and documentaries that we may become immune to the horrors of the world, particularly the terror of warfare. But while…

Richard Alston Dance Company

1 Nov 2007

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 13 Nov Music – some choreographers can’t start work without it, while for others it’s the final piece in the jigsaw. But for Martin Lawrance, dancer and choreographer with Richard Alston Dance…

Rambert Dance Company

1 Nov 2007

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 7–Fri 9 Nov Grace, finesse and refinement – three things every Rambert dancer has at their disposal. But the arrival of Australian choreographer, Garry Stewart this summer, turned the company on…

The Beecake - gig review

The Loft, Glasgow, Fri 12 Oct

1 Nov 2007

At last! Scotland has its very own film star vanity project band, and – as is the unspoken tradition with such things – they’re not quite as good as everyone might hope. To be fair, though, Billy Boyd’s Beecake were playing an acoustic charity set for…

007 Licensed to thrill at ECA retrospective

1 Nov 2007

A rare life study of Sir Sean Connery has been included in the Edinburgh College of Art Centenary Exhibition, Ten Decades, at the capital’s City Art Centre. The oil on canvas, which captures the star in barely there underwear, was painted by…

Ian Rankin's favourite culture snacks

1 Nov 2007

My 15-year-old son and I have a weekly pilgrimage where we go into HMV, Virgin, Game, Game Station and Waterstone’s. He gets his games and magazines and I get my CDs, DVDs, books, magazines, newspapers. That’s all I spend my money on. That and…

Ian Rankin interviews Aidan Moffat about comics

1 Nov 2007

Rankin When did you start reading comics? Were you a DC Thomson lad (Bimbo, Dandy, Beano, Victor, Hotspur)? Moffat I was definitely a Beano boy because it always seemed more edgy than the Dandy, but I insisted I got the Dandy as a sort of light…

Hitlist - the best events, talks and sport

1 Nov 2007

Bonfire Night Fireworks Displays Come on, who doesn’t love the cheap thrill of banging sparkly things? Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh. Glasgow Green, Glasgow, both Mon 5 Nov from 6.30pm. Glasgow Craft Mafia Massed gathering of emergent Scottish…

In England - interview with Don McCullin

1 Nov 2007

Don McCullin might seem like some kind of anachronistic beast among the top photographers today. Not for him the simpering vanities of celebrityhood; he has always been far more interested in the real problems that face ordinary people on a daily basis.

Spanning the void

1 Nov 2007

Think of post-war Eastern European modernisation and what comes to mind? Invariably, it is the drab, rashly executed housing blocks, service pavilions, train stations and shopping centres that inspire Monika Sosnowska, leading the Polish artist to…

Hitlist - the best gigs

Recommended

1 Nov 2007

* Ian Rankin's choice Idlewild and The Twilight Sad Yes, we could have picked a number of other homegrown treats of early November, but instead, we are going for the final night of this tour, a band at the top of their game, joined by arguably the…

Grub's Up

1 Nov 2007

CHILDREN’S THEATRE Platform, Glasgow, Sat 3 Nov; GilmorehillG12, Glasgow, Thu 8 Nov The smell of fried onions wafts through the air as a pot of tomato soup takes shape before our eyes. No, it’s not Ready, Steady, Cook, but the latest offering from…

Bill Bailey

1 Nov 2007

STAND-UP SECC, Glasgow, Wed 7–Fri 9 Nov It seems clear that Bill Bailey has never minded looking somewhat foolish in the pursuit of his chosen career path. Back in the early days when he was a mere West Country boy trying to earn a modest showbusiness…

Numbers

1 Nov 2007

ELECTRONIC DANCEHALL/GLITCH Glasgow School of Art, Fri 2 Nov Modeselektor are two electronic geniuses from Berlin by the names of Gernot and Szary. The pair has just released Happy Birthday!, the follow up to their debut album Hello Mom, and are…

Hitlist - The best LGBT events

1 Nov 2007

Scott Capurro’s Premature Gift The San Francisco funnyman is back with a huge comedy gift for Glasgow. The Stand, Glasgow, Sun 11 Nov. Robopop Trendy Wendy and pals visit Edinburgh’s newest gay venue every Thursday with a bag-full of records. GHQ…

Denise Mina & Leonardo Manco - review

Horror

1 Nov 2007

While Ian Rankin is writing his own Hellblazer story, due in 2008, the current scribe bringing occult anti-hero John Constantine to life is fellow Scots crime author Denise Mina. In this direct sequel to her Empathy is the Enemy collection, the Empathy…

Hitlist - the best theatre

1 Nov 2007

*Ian Rankin's picks Tamburlaine Must Die A modern thriller in Elizabethan guise. Louise Welsh’s adaptation of her novel revisits the life, and mysterious death of Christopher Marlowe. Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Sat 3–Sun 11 Nov. Whipping It Up…

Remote Control

1 Nov 2007

I’m seriously starting to believe that Stephen Poliakoff has got some pretty incriminating photos in his possession. I can’t see any other reason for the BBC continuing to pour resources his way when he comes up with depressingly disappointing efforts…

Into The Wild

1 Nov 2007

TRUE STORY/DRAMA (15) 140min Sean Penn steps behind the camera once more, to write and direct this robust yet freewheeling adaptation of journalist John Krakauer’s non-fiction book about the extraordinary experiences on the road of young American…